The Weak Link
by ladylizzybladestriker97
Summary: King Scar orders his hyenas to fight his young son, Nuka, to once again test his strength, to see if he is suitable to be his heir. Nuka is desperate to be strong and only wants to impress his father, but it seems that Scar will never be satisfied with his son after he is defeated yet again. Rated K Plus for use of minor violence. {One-shot}


**I always thought what the relationship between Nuka and Scar would have been like and why he chose Kovu, who is not even his son, to be his heir and not Nuka, who in my theory, is his actual son with Zira. A lot of fans have suggested Nuka was weak so Scar didn't chose him. **

**Anyway, here it is. Rated K+ just to be safe, as there is minor violence in this. But just MINOR, no blood and guts or anything XD Hope you like. :)**

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**"The Weak Link"**

The hyenas staggered backwards in great fear upon hearing the ferocious roar of their master and their King, Scar. His roar had been so monstrous that they immediately cowered away to make room for him. There he stood abruptly, looking strikingly intimidating with his raven-coloured mane and his sharp claws gripping into the rusty, grey mud of the grassland they stood in.

Scar's presence was fearful enough to make the hyenas' hearts start pounding fast, even more so than when they were gnawing brutally on a lifeless gazelle. His rapacious eyes, that were the brightest green of any lion in Pride Rock, carefully examined them as he made his way through the path they had made for him. Scar's chin was up and head lifted, importantly and he sauntered through. They all noticed the anger in his eyes.

Scar then towered above one of the hyenas, named Banzai, who gulped as he bowed his head in respect to his master.

"Banzai," Scar addressed him in his usual callous voice. The sharpened tone to his voice sent shivers down Banzai's spine.

"Y-Yes Scar?" he spluttered, nervously.

Scar's ear pricked up when he heard an innocent whimper come from behind the line of hyenas behind him. His head snapped in its direction and then quickly back to Banzai, whose head was still bowing his head.

"Look at me," Scar said, coldly. Banzai slowly lifted his head. "Well? Is the test done?"

"Yes, Scar."

"The result?"

"Well, uh, he…he…" Banzai gulped.

"Answer me!" Scar snapped.

"Let _me _explain," said Shenzi, a female hyena who was the obvious leader of the group, always fighting for Scar's attention. She was next to Banzai in the line.

"Very well, Shenzi. Tell me," Scar commanded.

"We followed your orders, of course, pal. We rallied everybody to train the little brute. He gave a valiant effort, really, but he was _useless_. We haven't eaten in _days_ either, so we're not even in the best shape or anything, huh?" She looked to Banzai.

"Yeah!" Banzai agreed, nodding vigorously. "We're _starving_…and even when we're sort of weak he couldn't even fight us back good! What were we supposed to do? We tried to get the little guy toughened up, but it seems like he'll never be good enough."

"I see," Scar said, plainly.

Scar paused, as there was a horribly tense silence. He looked suspiciously at them both, raising his eyebrows. Scar then began to slowly pace down the line of his followers, looking around him with his predatory eyes. The hyenas remained quiet, as each of them hung their heads in a bow of admiration.

Once again, Scar heard a tiny whimper and darted his head around frantically to look. He then heard what was left of the grass rustling.

"Nuka?" Scar called. All the hyenas started to fumble around in a panic, making Scar's blood boil even more. "Where is he?!" he demanded.

Hastily, a few of the hyenas moved out of the way to reveal Scar's young son, Nuka, laying helplessly within the dying grass. At first, panic gripped Scar's heart as Nuka was motionless, but when he saw him stir slightly, he growled threateningly at the hyenas, making them fumble backwards into a group behind him.

Scar looked down on his son stirring in the grass, obviously struggling to his paws. He very slowly sauntered over to Nuka, until his shadow darkened Nuka's vision. The young cub managed to lift his head up to his father, and Scar noticed that the tuft upon his hair was now distorted and messy, rather than his usual smooth tuft that made them look alike.

Nuka panted hard in his father's haunting presence.

"Nuka. Get up," Scar spat down on his son, in disgust. Nuka managed to scramble to his paws, before tripping over again with a loud whimper. The hyenas behind Scar sniggered cruelly. "Silence!" Scar shouted at them, and they instantly remained mute. Scar suddenly grabbed his son with his sharp claw and forcefully lifted him onto his paws. He then lifted his head to look at him. Nuka was quivering, making Scar have a strange sense of remorse, but that was soon overpowered by his sense of disappointment. "Why are you shaking, my son?" Scar asked in a soft voice, almost making him sound friendly.

Nuka struggled to answer for a moment, but with a huge gulp he managed to splutter an answer.

"I…I don't know dad," Nuka answered, his voice trembling like the leaves that were falling off every tree in the Pride Lands due to the horrific drought that had occurred since Scar began his reign as King.

"Oh?" Scar said, sitting on his back legs and pulling his son closer to him. "You don't know?"

"N-No…" Nuka shakily replied.

Scar sighed heavily as he glanced up to the cloud-infested sky over the Pride Lands.

"Did they attack you, Nuka?" Scar asked.

Nuka nodded. "Yes, dad," he replied in his tiny voice.

"And did you fight them back?"

"Yes, dad."

"Hmm. In the way that I taught you?"

"Yeah! I tried my best to fight them off, dad..."

Scar sniggered slightly under his breath. "Oh, son…" he sighed. "Of _course _you tried your best." He harshly stroked his head, clawing off some of Nuka's developing mane. "You say the same thing to my _every _time. Look at me." Nuka nervously lifted his head up at Scar. "I've taught you _all _your life to fight. Why is it you _never_ succeed?!"

Scar snarled angrily pushed Nuka backwards, making him tumble onto his back and then Scar slashed his face, making him fall helpless at his father's feet. Scar could only scoff when Nuka whined as he once again struggled to his tiny paws.

"Get up!" Scar commanded. "This is the third time this has happened! Your mother and I have taught you everything and you _always _fail me!"

Young Nuka growled as he finally stood tall, frowning at Scar.

"You told me it's every lion for himself," little Nuka bravely declared. "I fought for myself when they had help with each other! It's not fair father that I should fight alone."

Scar spluttered into cold-hearted laughter at the sight of his son's foolish attempt to stand up to him.

"Nuka, I have also taught you that life isn't _fair_," Scar exclaimed to his son. "A _King's _life certainly isn't. Just between me and you, son, you might want to work on your strength, because it is _pathetic_."

Scar paused as his eyes traced around the dull grassland, as he thought long and hard. He looked back at Nuka, and helplessly sighed at the sight of his weak son.

"Nuka, you know you mean a great deal to me," he said. "But a great King must always be followed by another that is equally as strong."

"But I _can _be!" Nuka cried, scampering up to his father and looking up at him with pleading red eyes. "I can be that King! Let me prove to you! I'll fight another cub if I have to!"

"Nuka, there is no hope. You have failed to show me the strength of a King too many times. You have _ashamed_ me."

Nuka desperately tried to show the tears that were beginning to spout from his eyes, so he hung his head in shame.

"I'm sorry, father," he whimpered.

Scar started to feel that little remorse inside himself once again, so he quickly scoffed before turning away from him and back to his gang of hyenas, who immediately became alert.

"Take him home," he instructed to Banzai. "And make sure he stays there."

"Sure thing," Banzai replied, walking up to a sobbing Nuka. "Come on, kid."

Nuka miserably stood his paws as Banzai began to lead him away.

"Shenzi," Scar said. "Take me to see Zira. We have, ah…business we must attend to."

"Yes, Scar," Shenzi replied, immediately.

"The rest of you can get out of my sight. All of you, go! Maybe next time you can re-think of better ways to toughen up my offspring!"

The hyenas instantly filed away, hurriedly as Shenzi began to lead Scar in the opposite direction from where Nuka was being led away.

Young Nuka's trembling paws stopped in his path as he turned his head to see his father sauntering away from him in the other direction. His eyes widened as humiliation and betrayal filled Nuka's heart. A tear fell helplessly off his cheek.

"I'm sorry," Nuka whispered, before he sadly walked away again.

He'd been told all his life he'd been the weak link, and Nuka felt it through every part of his body, as he returned to Pride Rock with a heavy heart.


End file.
